Indian equity benchmarks finished the trading day in positive territory on Monday as gains concentrated in the IT, Oil & Gas and Technology sectors lifted overall market sentiment.
At the National Stock Exchange close, the Nifty 50 rose 0.37%. On the Bombay Stock Exchange, the BSE Sensex 30 climbed 0.38% at the session end.
Top movers on the Nifty 50
- Cipla Ltd. (NSE:CIPL) led the index, advancing 4.90% - a rise of 66.20 points - to finish at 1,418.00.
- Tech Mahindra Ltd (NSE:TEML) added 2.16%, gaining 30.40 points to close at 1,440.00.
- Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd (NSE:REDY) was up 1.64%, or 20.90 points, to end the session at 1,293.00.
Biggest laggards on the Nifty 50
- IndusInd Bank Ltd. (NSE:INBK) fell 3.02%, slipping 28.60 points to a close of 918.85.
- Asian Paints Ltd. (NSE:ASPN) declined 2.20%, losing 60.00 points to finish at 2,672.90.
- Titan Company Ltd (NSE:TITN) eased 1.20%, down 52.90 points to 4,367.00 at the close.
Notable moves on the BSE Sensex 30
- Tech Mahindra Ltd (BO:TEML) led the BSE list with a 1.87% gain to 1,437.25.
- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (BO:SUN) was up 1.39% to settle at 1,862.70.
- Infosys Ltd (BO:INFY) gained 1.29% to close at 1,065.45.
On the downside for the Sensex basket, IndusInd Bank Ltd. (BO:INBK) fell 3.08% to 918.70, Asian Paints Ltd. (BO:ASPN) lost 2.15% to 2,675.00 and Nestle India Ltd (BO:NEST) declined 1.23% to 1,398.00 in late trade.
Market breadth and volatility
Advances outpaced declines on both primary exchanges. On the NSE, 1,597 stocks rose while 978 fell and 43 finished unchanged. On the BSE, 2,412 shares advanced, 1,700 declined and 193 were unchanged. The India VIX, which measures implied volatility for Nifty 50 options, moved down 1.18% to 12.82, indicating a modest drop in expected near-term volatility for the index.
Commodities and currency moves
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for August delivery were higher by 1.31%, an increase of 54.80, to $4,227.70 a troy ounce. Crude prices were weaker: Crude oil for August delivery fell 0.63% or 0.48 to $75.37 a barrel, and the September Brent contract declined 1.46% or 1.17 to trade at $78.88 a barrel.
Currency moves included an appreciation of the US dollar against the rupee, with USD/INR up 0.46% to 94.76 and EUR/INR up 0.29% to 108.50. The US Dollar Index Futures was slightly higher, up 0.02% at 100.64.
What this means
The session closed with modest gains for headline indices and a market breadth that favored advancers across both the NSE and BSE. Sector-specific strength in IT, Oil & Gas and Technology buoyed prices, while select financials and consumer-related names weighed on the downside.